


astronomy in reverse (it was me who was discovered)

by m_oliverfan



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Mental Health Issues, and an attachment disorder, in this house we go to therapy, kara has a lot of trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-16 17:49:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29704314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/m_oliverfan/pseuds/m_oliverfan
Summary: Kara knows that Lena Luthor is many things. She’s the CEO of one of the most successful businesses in the country. She’s the daughter of a madwoman and the sister of a killer. She’s brilliant and beautiful, a force of goodness that National City doesn’t deserve.The trouble is, Lena keeps almost dying. Her safety becomes a constant worry, Kara’s ear attuned to the heartbeat she loves the most. Protecting Lena becomes the most important thing.More important than National City, even.In other words:Kara loves Lena. Lena is a very breakable human prone to disaster. It drives Kara to lines she never thought she’d cross.A story about attachment disorders, lonely hearts, and what we’ll do for the people we don’t want to lose.
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 11
Kudos: 123





	1. the night sky once ruled my imagination

**Author's Note:**

> I have a lot of feelings about Kara losing her planet as a teenager and the ways that would ABSOLUTELY affect her in her adult life. Like, yeah, Kara Danvers is a perfect ball of sunshine, but can you really tell me she doesn’t have some abandonment / attachment issues after that super trauma she went through? No. So, this is an exploration of how that trauma might manifest itself through unhealthy attachments to people she cares about, namely Lena.  
> Title taken from Sleeping at Last’s song ‘Venus’. That whole space album gives me supercorp vibes, but this song in particular always makes me think of them.  
> I have taken the parts of canon that I want and ignored the rest… Okay, yeah, I’ve mostly ignored everything for this except characters and setting. This is set vaguely in / after season 2 but Mon-el doesn't exist.

Supergirl was not afraid. She was National City’s hero, whether it be from rogue aliens or humans with guns too big for their greedy hearts. She was the city’s protector. If she ever felt that spark of fear, it didn’t matter. She pushed through it. 

Supergirl didn’t know what it was like to be afraid. 

Kara Danvers, on the other hand, knew the feeling well. She felt it when her sister threw herself in front of gunfire, when her friends put themselves on the line to help her protect the city and sometimes, just for her. 

And in between them both, Supergirl and Kara Danvers, Kara Zor-El knew fear even more intimately. 

Kara Zor-El had known fear since she was thirteen, flung from her home and into the vast blackness of space, her only hope a small speck of light in the distance, a pod containing her cousin, both of them on the way to their new home. 

Sometimes when Kara looked at Lena Luthor, she would remember Krypton. It was odd, usually memories of her home planet were buried deep underneath years of playing human on earth, years of assimilation and new memories made among her human family. It was easy to forget her old home, now crumbling dust faded into the void of space. It made her insurmountably guilty, but most of the time, memories of a world put on her shoulders were too much for her to bear.

But looking at Lena, she could remember what was good. Yellow daylight would fade to a deep red. The ever-present burden of sacrifice, all of the lives in National City weighing on her shoulders, would lift and she would hear her mother’s laugh. Looking at Lena, Kara could remember. Lena was like Krypton in that way - bathed in beautiful red, brilliant, ever-changing, growing, and - _dying_. Always dying, spinning slowly towards that inevitable end. 

Lena Luthor was always falling to her death. Just like Kara’s family, her people, her planet. Kara couldn’t save them, but she thought, _maybe_ , if she tried hard enough, she could save Lena. The last piece of her home, of herself. 

It started innocently. Kara would think about Lena when she was at Catco, sitting at her desk and writing an article Snapper had assigned her, and her hands would pause typing for just a moment. She would listen carefully across the city, weaving through echoing voices and car horns until she could hear the top office of L-Corp. Kara would hear Lena muttering to herself about something or speaking to an investor on the phone, and she would relax slightly as the steady heartbeat of her friend rang in her ears. Lena was safe in her office, far from any danger that could befall her in National City. 

It wasn’t Kara’s fault that Lena was so danger-prone, after all. She’d nearly died at least five times since she’d moved to National City. Kara was just looking out for her. That’s what friends were for, right? It wasn’t so different from picking up the phone and calling her to make sure she was alright.

Was it really so bad that Lena still didn’t know that Kara was the one saving her from these near-death experiences? It was Supergirl’s job to protect the people of National City. Lena lived in National City. It made sense that Supergirl would always show up to save her. 

That’s what Kara kept telling herself.

It started happening in ways that Kara recognized as _different_ after Lena had been taken in for helping Corbin escape from prison, after she’d also escaped and went into the mountains with her mother, after Kara saw her there and felt something shatter inside of her at the thought that she had been wrong - that maybe Lena was working with her mother after all. It all came together again when she started to realize that Lena had saved them all. It came together inside of Kara’s chest - something like relief, like pride, like a fierce, unrelenting need for people to never question Lena’s intentions again. Kara stood there, watching Lena watch her mother as she was pushed into a police car, and felt something solid and unyielding settle in her chest. 

That was where it started, she would realize later. That was the moment when things really changed. 

Kara started showing up at L-Corp unannounced. 

She had done it before, but that next Monday, she was too aware that Lena had gotten up and gone to work like it was any other day - as if she hadn’t been kidnapped and almost killed by her own mother the day before - and Kara couldn’t make her feet turn towards Catco. She grabbed some coffees and donuts on her way in, and walked up to the top office of L-Corp. 

“Kara.” Jess looked up, obviously surprised to see her. She checked her computer for a moment. “I don’t see -.” 

Kara could hear Lena typing away in her office, not on any phone calls and not in a meeting, so Kara just breezed past Jess with a bright smile and a donut dropped in front of her. “Good morning, Jess!” She opened the door to Lena’s office and felt her nerves ease as Lena glanced up from her computer in confusion and, if you looked deeply enough (Kara did), slight relief and happiness. “Kara.” Lena said, her name almost a question. 

Feeling emboldened, Kara shut the door behind her and walked into the room, holding up the coffee and bag. “I brought breakfast.” Kara dropped them on Lena’s desk and sat down across from her. “I know you never eat before work,” Kara worried her bottom lip as she thought about what she should say. “And I heard about… this weekend.” 

Lena’s face dropped slightly. She pulled the coffee closer to her and took a sip, looking up with a slight smile as she got a taste of her favorite order, before it fell off her face as well. “I guess Supergirl told you?” 

Kara had never felt a desire to tell someone her secret more fiercely than in that moment. Lying felt like she was pulling out her own teeth. “Yeah.” She nodded, looking down and offering a donut to her friend. 

Lena looked at it for a moment with a raised eyebrow. Kara wiggled it in her fingers. “Come on, Lena. Everyone loves donuts.” 

Lena sighed, glancing at her fondly before taking it from her. She put it in a napkin and took a dainty bite. Kara snorted and stuffed half of one in her mouth. 

Lena laughed, holding her hand over her mouth. Kara grinned, donut and all, and felt like she’d just accomplished everything she was put on this planet to do. She decided in that moment that making Lena Luthor laugh, especially after what must have been one of the worst days of her life, was Kara’s worthiest endeavor. 

It became something of a thing. 

Lena demanded Kara stop bringing donuts, chiding her on her lack of care for her health, and made Kara bring smoothies if she was going to come at all. Kara begrudgingly agreed with the caveat that only Lena’s would have kale in it. Kara couldn’t stand the nasty green things. 

Kara felt better, seeing Lena first thing every morning. She didn’t know what it was, but whenever Lena had an early meeting or phone call with someone across the world, Kara felt out of sorts, as if she was missing something vital when she hadn’t seen Lena by 9 am. Kara felt jittery, nervous, and jumped at the slightest sound sitting at her desk at Catco. 

It was one of those days, where Lena had been on the phone with someone from Japan since 4 am, and Kara had given Nia her extra coffee as she came into the office. Kara was staring up at the ceiling in her chair, failing to focus on the story she was writing - she couldn’t even really remember the point of it - and letting out big sighs every few minutes. 

“Kara?” Nia walked over to her. Kara looked up and tried to smile, but she knew it didn’t come out right. “Are you okay?” Nia was still a little hesitant around Kara, but she got more comfortable with each day. 

“Oh, yeah.” Kara smiled and nodded, tapping her keyboard a few times to wake her computer up and pretending to be reading something on the screen. “Just a big story that I’m focusing on.” 

“Right,” Nia looked over her shoulder. “The one about vegan hotspots in the city.” Nia looked at her. “You hate vegan food.” 

“Oh.” Kara remembered now. That’s why she couldn't focus on it, it must be. She just couldn’t stand the thought of writing about terrible food when there were such better and greasier options all around the city. “Yeah.” She leaned back with a slight chuckle. “I guess I’m not really invested in this one.” 

“I can take it over if you want.” Nia said earnestly. “Or help with some research, talk to some restaurant owners.” She trailed off. 

“Oh, no, you don’t have to -.” Kara was waving her off, her voice sounding, even to herself, dejected and resigned in a way she’d never really felt about her job before. 

“Maybe you just need to take a break.” Nia offered. “It’s almost lunch, maybe you could -.” 

“Lunch!” Kara suddenly said loudly, her eyes widening in realization. Nia leaned back slightly, a confused smile on her face. Lena had mentioned she’d be done by lunch. Kara could go see her now. Kara jumped up with new energy, her ears scouring the city for that familiar sound, when she froze bending down to grab her bag. Lena wasn’t in her office. Kara focused her hearing, listening to heartbeat after heartbeat, but Lena wasn’t in L-Corp at all. 

Kara felt her anxiety spike. She felt the fabric of the back of her chair crunch and break underneath her hand. Kara looked at the chair, her eyes going wide, before looking up at Nia who was looking back and forth between her hand and her eyes. “Um -.” Kara let go of the chair carefully, feeling part of it come off in her hand. A large part of it. 

She should be worried, she should be trying to explain her behavior, but she just threw the piece of chair in the trash and mumbled a hasty goodbye before jogging out of the office. She couldn’t focus on this misstep, because Lena wasn’t in L-Corp. She wasn’t where she was supposed to be. What if something had happened? Kara was listening frantically for any sirens, for that _fucking_ heartbeat, but she couldn’t hear it - she couldn’t _hear her_ -.

“Kara!” 

Kara spun around too fast for a human to see Lena waving at her in the lobby of Catco. Kara walked towards her, her ears tuning into that sweet, sweet beating heart, and wrapped her in a hug as soon as she could reach her. _She was okay_. 

“Oh.” Lena stiffened in surprise for just a moment before hugging her back with a slight laugh. “Did you miss me?” She teased as she leaned back. Her hands were still on Kara’s arms and Kara didn’t want to let go of her waist. Kara let herself have two more seconds before she let go and took an appropriate step back. 

She grinned, this one coming easy. “I guess I’ve just gotten used to seeing you every day.” 

Lena smiled at her, the one Kara knew no one else got to see, before spinning and hooking her arm through Kara’s. Kara happily followed. 

“I just got done with my call, and I was thinking we could get lunch?” Lena asked. 

“I was just coming to ask the same thing.” Kara grinned at her, unable to keep the smile off her face. She thought she saw a faint tint of blush on Lena’s cheeks before she turned to hide her face with her hair. It was down today, the long black hair falling in stark contrast to her pale skin. Kara thought she was beautiful. 

“Well, lucky me.” Lena murmured. 

Kara thought that she had it backwards - Kara had never been more lucky than the day Kal had asked her to join him in interviewing _Lena Luthor_ , but she bit the words back on her lip. Lena was like a skittish mare sometimes, if you came too close too fast she’d run away, and Kara just squeezed the arm around her own and vowed to show her instead. 


	2. after awhile, i thought i'd never find you

The next morning, Kara was feeling happy because she’d seen Lena. She didn’t notice until a couple of hours into the day that Nia was staring at her strangely. She suddenly remembered what had happened the day before. 

“Hey, Nia.” Kara went over to her desk and sat on the edge of it. “Everything alright? I finally finished up that vegan story - god, it was such a drag.” She smiled brightly down at her. 

“That’s good.” Nia nodded, not quite meeting her eyes. 

Kara scrunched her eyebrows and debated on what to say, and had just opened her mouth to talk about some pre-workout she had taken the morning before when Nia beat her to it. 

“I had them bring up a new chair.” Nia said, still looking down. 

Kara glanced over. She didn’t know why she hadn’t noticed, but this one definitely didn’t have a hand shaped hole in the top. “Oh, thanks Nia. About that -.” 

“Look, you don’t have to tell me.” Nia whispered. “But don’t lie to me.” She finally looked up at Kara. “You’re always gone when Supergirl is saving the city. You have the same hair and I bet if you took off those glasses you’d look exactly the same.” 

Kara gaped at her. 

“I’m not going to tell anybody.” Nia assured her, standing suddenly and wringing her hands. “I know what it’s like to have a secret that you don’t want others to know.” She looked down at her hands. “I know what it’s like to feel like you might be in danger if people found out.” She swallowed and looked back up at her. “And I’m your friend and I’m here, if you ever need like, a cover or something.” 

Kara couldn’t believe her luck in finding someone like Nia Nall. She reached forward and hugged her, squeezing as tightly as she dared. Nia hugged her back and seemed to let out a big breath. 

“Thank you.” Kara said sincerely as they stepped back. “I am going to need you to come with me to this place - there’s  _ so  _ many papers you have to sign now - but thank you for telling me.” Kara smiled at her. “You’re a good friend, Nia.” 

Nia beamed and they went back to work soon after. Kara felt a warmth in her chest, the kind she always got when she was around her friends, but it was dimmer than usual. She frowned at her computer screen and tried to think about what was wrong. Subconsciously, her hearing sought out the familiar heartbeat, and she felt the warmth bloom a little more at finding it, exactly where she thought it would be, letting her know that Lena was safe in her office. 

A few days later, Kara was at the DEO as Supergirl, having just come in from delivering an ambulance that had been stuck in traffic. She walked over to Winn and sat down in one of the chairs next to him, spinning around slightly. “I’m bored, Winn.” 

“Well, I’m trying to find you something to do.” He replied, his fingers flying across the keyboard. “But it looks like criminals do sleep. There’s nothing happening tonight.” 

“Why don’t you head home?” Alex called from a few paces away. “I think we’re good here.” 

Kara looked back up at the large screen with video across the city, surveilling it for alien activity. She didn’t want to admit that she was stalling, that being home by herself meant pacing in front of her open window, her senses devoted to a single heartbeat across the city, waiting for the pace of it to change, waiting for a gasp of pain, waiting for a call for Supergirl. She couldn't sleep; thoughts of missing her only chance to save Lena just because she’d gone to sleep kept her from ever coming close to reaching unconsciousness. 

“Yeah, okay.” Kara didn’t want them to know, so she got up and walked out, smiling brightly at them both before jumping off the balcony. Her smile fell as she rose farther in the sky, and she found herself drifting over L-Corp, where Lena was still working. 

What if she called her? Would she say yes to a late night snack from Kara Danvers? Or should she just show up like usual and hope she wasn’t interrupting anything important? Kara floated on her back over a cloud and sighed. She knew there was a line with Lena - where too much meant she’d run the opposite direction - and she was keen on never crossing it. But it was hard, when all she ever wanted to do was talk to her, show her some cool new restaurant that she’d found, or fly her over the city at night so that she could see the moon from the best height. 

Kara drifted in the sky and waited for Lena to call her driver, way past a reasonable hour, and make her way to her apartment. It wasn’t until the early hours of the morning that Kara actually landed in her apartment, rubbing the exhaustion from her eyes and flopping down on her bed, suit and all. 

She stared up at the ceiling and frowned. She wouldn’t be any use to Lena - or  _ anyone _ \- if she was too exhausted to fly properly. What if her tiredness kept her from getting there fast enough? As Kara tried to convince herself to go to sleep, it was the gentle lulling of the sleeping heartbeat of Lena Luthor thrummed from her eardrums down to her toes that finally did it, assuring her that all was well, and she could get a little rest. 

Kara woke up to her phone ringing. She gasped awake and grabbed it, pressing the answer button without even knowing who it was. “Hello?” She said groggily. 

“Kara, there’s been an incident.” It was Alex. Her words registered and Kara’s world immediately tunnel visioned. 

“What - what happened? Is she okay?” Kara asked frantically, already out of the window and listening for her. 

“What?” Alex asked distractedly. “Who? You know what, nevermind, just get to the DEO. There’s an alien that attacked a bar last night, no casualties, but it let off this noxious odor that put people to sleep? Then he robbed the place clean” Alex sighed. “Just get down here. We’re not sure if it will work on you or not.” 

Kara was already over Lena’s apartment, using her x-ray vision to see that she was in her room, awake and getting ready for the day. Kara quickly looked away as Lena started putting on a dress and started flying in the direction of the DEO. 

“Kara?” Oh, she still hadn’t replied to Alex. 

“I’m on my way.” She ended the call and put away her phone. 

After a full day of chasing the slimy alien, they still didn’t have any luck. 

“It’s like they disappeared.” Kara said, hands on her hips as she stood with the others in the DEO. 

“And nothing on the satellite images.” Winn said. 

“There’s got to be a way.” Alex stared at the screens and shook her head. “We can’t just wait for them to attack again.” 

“Supergirl,” J'onn called over to her. “Can you do a perimeter of the city and see if you can hear or see anything? We’re running out of ideas here.” 

“Yeah,” Kara was nodding immediately. “I can -.” A heartbeat across the city sped up at a frightening rate. 

Her words were cut off as panic flashed through her body. Before anyone could blink, she had jumped out of the window and was across the city, landing on Lena’s balcony and bursting through the glass door. 

The man who had his gun pointed at Lena Luthor was gasping for breath seconds after Kara had heard Lena’s heartbeat go from the slightly elevated tempo she had at work most days to a tempo Kara only ever associated with fear in humans. She ripped the gun out of his hands and crushed it in one of her own, the other was wrapped around his throat and tightening as he clawed at her hand. She pushed him farther into the wall he was held against. 

“Supergirl.” Lena’s voice was right behind her. Too close to the man who had just tried to kill her. Kara threw the man to the other side of the room, breaking a glass cabinet as he landed. He groaned and didn’t move. 

Kara moved between the man and Lena and her eyes roamed quickly over her body, checking for injuries. Her heartbeat was still elevated, but was slowly coming down. No marks or bullet holes. No blood. Kara felt the panic begin to abate slightly as she realized Lena wasn’t hurt. She’d gotten there in time. 

“Thank you.” Lena said. 

Kara looked up into her eyes. “Are you alright?”

“Yes,” Lena said, almost sounding surprised. She glanced over at the man crumpled on the floor. “I almost wasn’t, but you got here before he could even get five words in.” She frowned slightly. “How did you know?” 

Kara thought faintly that it should be concerning how easily the lie came off her tongue. It’s not as if she could tell anything resembling the truth, though. One consolation for her heartlessness was that it still hurt to say these words. To lie to Lena. “I was nearby. I always keep an ear out for the sound of a safety clicking off.” She tried to downplay it with a slight smile. Her eyes were still flickering down from Lena’s eyes to look over her body, to make  _ sure  _ that nothing was wrong. She knew she couldn’t get away with what she really wanted to do, her hands twitching at her sides so much she curled them into fists and pressed them against her hips in that Supergirl pose that always made her feel more confident than she was. 

“Lucky me.” Lena was looking at her with something in her eyes that Kara couldn’t place. Before either of them could say anything else, the door to her office was opening and Kara was in front of Lena, pushing her back away from each threat - the man unmoving on the ground and the two barging into the room. 

A hand on her arm stopped her from jumping forward and doing the same thing she’d just done to the other man. Lena said softly in her ear, “They’re my guards. I called them with a panic button. They’re here to help.” 

Kara stayed tense as Lena walked in front of her and started speaking to them. Their eyes flickered over Kara before moving over to the unconscious man. They picked him up and carried him out of the room, nodding as some sort of understanding passed between them and Lena. Kara glared at them as they moved around the room. These were her guards? They should have been here faster. 

When the door clicked shut again, Lena turned to look at her. 

“What are you going to do with him?” Kara asked. 

“Find out who sent him here.” Lena said casually, moving back to her desk with a lingering glance over at her ruined glass shelf. “Thank you for your help, Supergirl, but I think I can take it from here.” 

Kara nodded stiffly. She forced her feet to move towards the balcony door and only glanced back once more. Lena was sitting with forced casualness - Kara could see it in the stiffness of her shoulders and the tension visible in her jaw. Her eyes were on the ruined shelf across the room. Kara turned and jumped off the balcony, shooting straight up and then hovering above the closest cloud. She closed her eyes and hovered in place, her ears scouring the building first for Lena’s heartbeat, coming down from it’s frantic beat, then to the guards with the man, then all throughout the structure, listening to any whispered words or adrenaline fueled heartbeats. 

She was there until most people in the building had gone home. She opened her eyes finally when she heard movement in Lena’s office. 

Kara followed her home. It wasn’t until Lena was sighing into a glass of wine on her couch, the doors locked and no one suspicious within a couple of miles that Kara could hear, that Kara allowed herself to start flying in the direction of her apartment, one ear attuned behind her as she flew over the city. 

The next day, Kara was pacing her apartment as she listened to the sounds from across the city. She had woken up from broken sleep with a desperate need to do something - what, she didn’t know - and had been listening in to see if Lena needed her. It was a Saturday, so she couldn’t go to her office with the lie that she was on her way to Catco. She was debating picking up the phone and calling her as Kara when a knock at her door startled her. 

Kara frowned at the door and used her x-ray vision to see her sister in the hall. She remembered suddenly how she had burst out of the DEO without explanation and had never returned, right when they were in the middle of an investigation. She hurried over to the door and threw it open, throwing on a smile as she did so. 

“Alex!” She cried out reaching over to pull her into a hug. “Sorry about yesterday.” She leaned back and shook her head at herself. “I got distracted with something, but it’s all good now! Did something happen? Do you need me at the DEO?” 

“Kara, breathe.” Alex said, looking at her in concern. “Are you alright?” 

Kara tried to put on the bright smile she knew Alex was used to seeing. “I’m good! Just thinking about something…” She trailed off lamely and waved her hand. “Don’t worry about it. Want to go grab lunch?” She was up and grabbing her coat before Alex could respond. Her sister just let out a small sigh before joining her with an indulgent smile. 

“You’re not getting out of this.” Alex warned as they stepped out of the apartment. 

“Out of what?” Kara smiled and shook her head, as if she didn’t know what Alex was talking about. As soon as she turned around to open the door her face fell and she gnawed at her bottom lip. She looked over her shoulder and sent her sister a bright smile, before it turned into a worried frown. “What happened with that alien? I’m sorry I just bailed on you guys…” She trailed off. She didn’t put much thought into what she was really feeling - that if she ever had to choose between some pointless patrol to find a needle in a haystack or saving Lena Luthor’s life again, it wasn’t a question what she would do. 

“Still on the loose.” Alex said, following her down the hall. “We could use you if you’re not up to anything today. 

Kara hummed. She needed to call and check on Lena. “I have this lead I’m trying to track down.” Kara said to her sister. When had lying become so easy? “But I’ll let you know afterwards.” 

“Alright.” Alex stared hard at her. 

“What?” Kara asked. 

“Nothing.” Alex shook her head and slung an arm around her shoulders. “You can talk to me, you know?” She said after they’d made it down to the street, weaving through other people on the sidewalk. “I’m here for you.” 

“I know, Alex.” Kara bumped her shoulder with her own, feeling a little bit of guilt stir. “You too.” 

After they’d had lunch and Kara had managed to convince Alex that she really had some work she needed to do and that she’d run by the DEO after she was done, Kara made her way to the vegetarian restaurant she knew Lena liked and got her favorite order. 

The doorman at Lena’s apartment complex nodded to her as she walked in and she greeted him with a bright smile. She made her way to the elevator and used the fingerprint scanner so that the penthouse button would pop out. She pushed it and pulled her glasses down slightly, staring up through the dozens of floors until she could see Lena at the very top, sitting on her couch.

Kara exited the elevator and knocked on her door, noticing with worry that Lena’s heartbeat went up way faster than normal as she did so. She hesitantly made her way to the door, and Kara was sure to put on her brightest smile and look straight into the little camera she knew was right beside the door frame as she heard Lena reach the door. 

“Hi.” Kara mouthed at the camera as she waved. 

Lena opened the door, her face looking wan and tired, and brightened slightly as she took in Kara holding up the box of food. 

“I got you the one with kale.” Kara said with a small hopeful smile. 

“Kara.” Lena said fondly, moving back to let her in. 

Kara walked in and put her bag on the floor, setting the container of food on a table nearby before taking a step forward to wrap Lena up in the hug she had wanted to give her so desperately the day before. Lena was stiff for just a breath, before she melted into her touch and reached around to grasp at the back of her sweater with a desperate grip. 

“I heard about what happened.” Kara murmured into her hair. “I’m so sorry, Lena.” 

Lena sighed, her breath brushing over Kara’s collarbone. “I suppose I was due for my quarterly assasination attempt.” Her attempt at humor felt flat as her voice shook and she tightened her grip. 

“Lena.” Kara said, taking a deep breath of her hair before brushing her lips over the crown of her head and pulling back. “You don’t have to do that.” 

“Don’t I?” Lena asked, pulling back and staring up at her with eyes that shone with unshed tears. “My family tries to kill me more often than they’ve given me Christmas presents. If it’s not amusing then it’s...” She trailed off. “Then it’s too much.” 

Kara brushed the back of her knuckles lightly over her cheek. “I’m glad Supergirl was there.” 

“Yeah.” Lena sighed out, turning and grabbing the food in one hand and Kara’s hand with her other. She pulled Kara out to the living room and they sat on the couch, some animal documentary playing on the television in front of them. 

Kara sat next to her as she picked at the food, eating a few mouthfuls probably just to appease Kara before setting it down with a sigh. Lena leaned her head on her hand, her eyes unseeing and glassy as she looked towards the television. Kara scooted over until she could wrap an arm around her shoulders and pull her close. Lena put her head on her shoulder and let out a puff of breath against Kara’s neck. 

“It’s going to be alright.” Kara said quietly into her hair, breathing in deeply. “You know I’d do anything for you, right?” 

Lena pressed her face deeper into her neck and reached up to clench Kara’s shirt in her hands. Kara pulled a blanket from the back of the couch and draped it over them both, settling against the couch with Lena half in her lap, trying to let the soft thump of her heartbeat soothe the anxiety running underneath her skin. 

Later that evening, after Kara had convinced Lena to take one of the sleeping pills in her cabinet in hopes of her finally getting some rest, she was flying across the city towards the DEO. She’d helped stop one robbery, contained a house fire, and helped an ambulance cut through rush hour traffic to get to the hospital in just a couple of hours. She landed on the balcony of the DEO and walked towards where she could see Alex and J’onn standing next to Brainy. 

Alex glanced up as she walked closer. “Supergirl. Glad you could join us.” 

Kara looked up at the screen they were focused around. “Did I miss anything? Any leads with that alien?” 

“Nothing yet.” J’onn said. “I hate to just sit here and wait for them to strike next, but there’s not much else we can do.” 

“Brainy, have you narrowed down a list of species it could be?” Kara asked him. 

“Yes.” He said, flicking a finger on his tablet and bringing up a new screen. “There are approximately 24 types of alien species that have the ability to omit toxic gasses, though none of them are documented as having the ability to put others to sleep. It has been very frustrating.” He scowled up at the screen.

Kara sighed and put her hands on her hips in her ‘supergirl’ pose. “Do you need me for anything else?” She glanced at Alex, hoping that it wasn’t obvious on her face how much she hoped her sister said no.

Alex gave her a searching look. Kara looked away and pretended to study the screen above them. 

“Go home, Supergirl.” Alex finally said, turning away. “I think we could all use some rest. We’ll come back to this in the morning with fresh eyes.” 

Kara nodded and backed away, launching herself out into the night sky and towards Lena’s penthouse before Alex could change her mind or ask her what was going on. 

Lena was still sleeping, Kara noticed as she took a big arc around the building. She searched the area for anything suspicious and eventually turned towards her own apartment after the same elevated heartbeat caught her attention for the third time, only for her to use her x-ray vision and see some guy doing some  _ private  _ things in his apartment that Kara could have gone her life without seeing.


End file.
